I Wanna Be The Partridge In Your Tree
by Quiddative
Summary: AU sequel to "I Could Hang Off Of Your Shoulder Like A Fool" "So, I kinda want to marry Ben." Kevin/Ben


**Title**: I Wanna Be The Partridge In Your Tree  
**Summary**: (sequel to _I Could Hang Off Of Your Shoulder Like A Fool_) "So, I kinda want to marry Ben."  
**Pairing(s)**: Kevin/Ben  
**Rating**: PG  
**Warning(s)**: I take no responsibility for the cavities this fic might induce  
**Disclaimer**: In my world, "Ken 10" is totally canon. But unfortunately, Man of Action doesn't think it should be.

**Author's Note**: I wanted to get this done for Christmas but then I got distracted by _Sherlock Holmes_ (which, for the record, is an amazing movie). Anyway, hope you enjoy!

~*~

It's two weeks till Christmas when Kevin receives the most mind-blowing epiphany ever.

This is what happens:

The last few weeks of school had been hellish for both Ken and Devlin and considering it's so close to the holidays, Ben and Kevin come to the unanimous agreement that their boys need a break. So, come Friday afternoon, they take the kids skating. Well, Kevin tried the whole skating thing for a grand total of five minutes before he realized that maybe he and ice aren't such a good combination after all. Ken and Devlin had made sure to keep track of how many times he'd fallen and reached eight before Kevin finally gave up. Ben, because he's the most awesome boyfriend in the whole world, keeps him company even though he'd probably have more fun on the ice than on the bleachers.

"Well, yeah, it _is_ pretty tempting to go back out there," says Ben when Kevin voices this out to him, "But hanging out with my boyfriend is just as fun." He slips his hand into Kevin's and leans against his shoulder as he says this.

Once again, Kevin wonders what the hell he did in his past life to deserve this.

"Hey," says Ben after a few minutes.

"Yeah?"

"Are you and Devlin doing anything for Christmas?" Ben asks hesitantly, looking up at him with those deadly Tennyson puppy dog eyes that neither Kevin nor Devlin can ever say 'no' to. Dammit, that's just playing dirty.

"Not really." answers Kevin. "I was just thinking of maybe catching a movie but other than that, we don't actually have anything planned."

Ben is fucking _glowing_ and the sight does things to Kevin that no one has ever been able to do up till a few months ago when Ben walked into his life. "Well, um, Ken and I were actually wondering if you wouldn't mind spending Christmas with us and our family."

Kevin jumps. "With… your family? It's not that it doesn't sound good, but… I don't want to get in the way."

Ben quickly waves the notion away. "Of course you won't! You're… " He actually _blushes_ before continuing, his voice just a little softer, "You _are_ family. At least to me and Ken. And I'm pretty sure Gwen already thinks of Devlin as a second nephew."

But Kevin's brain already stopped working at the words "family" and "you are". Suddenly, a mental image of his house swims into his vision and lounging in the yard without a care in the world are him, Ben, and their boys. The scene switches to the entrance of the high school next to the elementary school Ken and Devlin attend. The boys, now taller and older looking, are waving goodbye at Ben and Kevin from the steps where they're about to embark on their first day of high school. The next and final scene comes faster and more vividly than the other two. In this one, he and Ben are lying in Kevin's bed—_their bed_, he suddenly thinks—and Kevin's waking up to Ben's kisses.

Then just like that, Kevin realizes something that scares and excites him at the same time: he wants that, all of it, with Ben and Ken. He wants to wake up every day with Ben by his side. He wants to watch Ken grow up with Devlin. He wants to be part of Ben's family so much it _hurts_ just thinking about it.

But most importantly, he just wants Ben to stay in his life forever, till death do us part, amen.

"Kev?" Ben prods and Kevin is back in reality. "You okay?"

"Oh, yeah." Kevin replies dumbly. "I'm great. Er, yeah, Christmas at your family's. We'll definitely be there." He catches sight of Devlin and Ken racing each other on the rink and adds, "The boys will probably smother me in my sleep if I say 'no'."

Ben laughs and gives Kevin a quick kiss on the cheek that's somehow able to say _thank you_, _you're the best_, and _I love you_ all at once.

~*~

"So," Kevin tells his son the next morning while they're watching _Danny Phantom_, "I kinda want to marry Ben." Then he braces himself.

But Devlin, apparently, doesn't seem to find this confession nearly as earth-shattering as it had been for Kevin when he came to this conclusion yesterday. "Okay, cool." he simply says before returning his attention to Danny Fenton and co.'s latest misadventure.

Kevin is flabbergasted. "That's it? That's all you have to say?"

Devlin rolls his eyes. "Dad, please. The two of you have been going out for, oh, seven-going-on-eight months now. It's about time you guys got married and moved in together so I can finally call Ken my little brother." His lips twitch into a smirk. "I am _never _going to let him live that down."

"… Are you secretly a psychic mutant? Or are you actually Dexter, the boy genius who has that creepy love-hate relationship thing going on with his sister?"

"Neither, I'm a ninja." replies Ken with a triumphant grin on his face.

Sometimes, Kevin doesn't know whether to love or be afraid of his son.

~*~

Later on that week, Kevin calls up the two most important people in Ben's life sans Ken and his parents: Gwen and Julie, his cousin and best friend respectively.

"You want something." says Gwen the minute she arrives at their rendezvous, Mr. Smoothie.

"What makes you say that?" Kevin asks wryly.

"Because no man ever willingly calls a woman—or two, in this case—who isn't his significant other out of the blue to meet up with him if he doesn't want something. Bad." answers Julie before taking a long sip of her strawberry smoothie. "So spill. What's up?"

Kevin takes a deep, shaky breath before quietly replying, "I want to ask Ben to marry me."

The women's response is not how he imagined it. He'd expected dropped jaws and eyes widening to the size of saucers, but what he gets is an understanding nod from Julie and a "_Finally!_" from Gwen.

"What do you mean 'finally'?" demands Kevin.

"It was a 'my cousin's incredibly dense boyfriend finally got a clue' kind of finally." Gwen says with a smirk.

Julie nods again. "We thought you'd have proposed earlier, but I guess Christmas would be a much more appropriate time."

Kevin is stunned into complete silence for the second time in a week. "Did _everyone_ except me see this coming or am I actually in the _Twilight Zone_?"

"Well, everyone except you and Ben." says Gwen, shaking her head pityingly. "You guys are the most hopelessly clueless people ever."

"But," supplies Julie, "At least the two of you can be hopelessly clueless together."

~*~

_Ring! Ring! Ring—click!_

"_Hello?"_

"Hey, um, is this Kai?"

"_Yes. Who is this?"_

"Uh, hi. My name's Kevin Levin, I'm—"

"_My ex-husband's boyfriend and soon-to-be fiancé, I know. Gwen told me."_

"… Well, then… "

"_Oh, don't worry about it. Ben will definitely say 'yes'. I know him. If not, I'll fly down there myself and beat some sense into him for you." _

"Thanks, I appreciate that."

"… _You're a really lucky person, you know that, right?"_

"… Yeah, I do. Every day."

"_Take care of him and my baby, okay? Otherwise I might have to kick your ass and believe me when I say I _can_ open up a pretty big can of whoop-ass."_

"Yes, ma'am."

_Click!_

~*~

The final, and in Kevin's opinion, the hardest obstacle to get past before he can move onto the actual proposal is none other than the son of the love of his life.

He all but threatens Ben to let him pick up the kids that day instead of meeting up together like usual the next day. When Ben asks why, Kevin makes up some lame excuse about stopping by Target to buy presents along the way and he wants it to be a surprise. If Ben can smell the bullshit, he doesn't say so.

"Where's my dad?" Ken asks when he doesn't see the Rust Bucket in the parking lot the next day.

"Ah, he's busy with something. Anyway, come on, I'll buy you guys ice cream." offers Kevin, motioning the boys to get in the Camaro.

After Ken slides into the backseat with Devlin at his side, he bluntly states, "You want something."

The boy is so very clearly his aunt's nephew. "What? Is it a crime to want to spend some quality time with my son and his best friend?" Kevin protests weakly. When Ken's hard look doesn't let up, he sighs in defeat. "Okay, yeah, I do want something. But you have to promise not to tell your dad."

Ken's eyes widen and Kevin could swear his mouth is watering over the thought of pulling one over his father. "Oh, sure. Definitely. What is it? What is it?" If it weren't for the seatbelt, Kevin is sure the boy would be bouncing in his seat right now.

Kevin takes a deep breath not unlike the one he took before he spilled the beans to Gwen and Julie. "Ken, I love your dad. _A lot_. And… I really want to marry him. I wanted to know what you think. If you're not okay with that, even just a little, then that's fine—"

Before Kevin can finish his speech, Ken interrupts, "What are you talking about? Of course I'm okay with that! No, seriously, I'm _more_ than okay with it."

"Really?" asks Kevin, not quite believing his ears.

"Totally! Hey, when you guys get married, what should I call _you_? Because I already call Dad 'Dad' and I can't call you 'Dad' either since that'll just hurt my head."

"You could always call Ben 'Mommy'." Devlin offers helpfully.

"Devlin!" scolds Kevin, but the effect is lost on the boys when a wide, silly smile breaks out on his face, too.

Once they arrive at the Tennysons' place, Ken jumps out of the car and looks like he's about to barrel through the door when he pauses. "Ken? What's wrong?" asks Kevin as he, too, steps out of the car. Devlin is too engrossed in his PSP to notice.

Ken suddenly turns around and wraps his skinny arms around Kevin's middle. "I'm glad you're gonna be my other dad." he says.

Right then, those words mean more to Kevin than anything else in the world.

~*~

It's Christmas Eve and not for the first time is Kevin convinced that the entire Tennyson family is insane. They're wonderful people, but, yeah, insane. Gwen had been dropping the most painfully obvious hints all night that Kevin had something special up his sleeve which stopped just short of outright telling Ben, "Your boyfriend wants to propose to you!" Kevin likes Gwen, he really does, but there are times when he really wants to strangle the woman. Luckily, Ben hasn't figured out Gwen's hints yet and is convinced that his cousin maybe had a little too much eggnog and who is Kevin to tell him otherwise?

But thankfully, the rest of the Tennyson family was more subtle than her. Kevin discovered this when he and Devlin arrived at Ben's childhood home and were greeted with open arms by his parents. The first thing Carl did when he saw Kevin was pull him in a bear hug (which was kinda funny considering Kevin was easily the tallest person in the vicinity minus Ben) and Sandra even gave Devlin a kiss on the cheek the minute the boy stepped inside the house. Kevin was pretty sure the entire world had turned upside down when Carl and Sandra announced that they'd bought presents for Devlin as well because _people don't just do that for kids they've never met in their lives_.

"You didn't have to do that." he'd protested.

Sandra shook her head. "Of course we had to! Why, Devlin and Ken are practically brothers." At this, she winked at Kevin and he'd wondered just how many people were in on his so-called secret. He'd shot an annoyed glare at Gwen, who pointedly ignored him. Before Sandra had left to check on the turkey, she gave Kevin's arm a gentle squeeze and he figured that's as good a blessing as any.

Right now, it's almost midnight; Ken and Devlin are passed out in the basement and Ben is nowhere to be found. Kevin's about to join the rest of the Tennysons in the living room when he feels a tap on his shoulder and turns around to find Ben smiling mischievously.

"Do I want to know?" he asks dryly, but he can't quite keep his lips from quirking into a smile.

"I want to show you something." says Ben, tugging him in the direction of the kitchen and to the screen door leading to the backyard. He slides the screen back and motions for Kevin to follow him as he trudges through the two-foot high snow.

Kevin is about to ask, "What is it?" but the question dies on his lips when he catches up to Ben and looks up. 'It' turns out to be a massive old cherry tree planted in the center of the backyard—specifically, the creaky tree house seated neatly high in the branches.

"Ta-da!" Ben says proudly. "Grandpa Max built it for me when I was ten."

"A tree house?"

Ben smirks. "No, a _spaceship_."

"Ah, I see."

Ben gives him a tug. "Come on, wait till you see the inside." He's already scaling up the dubious looking ladder nailed to the tree.

"I'd rather not." replies Kevin. But when Ben ignores him and keeps going, Kevin sighs in defeat and goes after him. It would really suck if his boyfriend fell and broke his neck before Kevin even got a chance to pop the question.

Once he gets through the hatch, it takes his eyes a while to adjust to the darkness with only the faint moonlight streaming in through that one tiny window on the right and the dozen or so cracks littering the place. It's slightly cramped inside the tree house, but Kevin's impressed that it's still spacious—and stable—enough to hold two fully grown adults. "Over here!" calls Ben from a corner.

It doesn't take long for Kevin to sidle over. "So is this what you wanted to show me? The _Enterprise II_?"

"Well, sorta." admits Ben, holding up a worn shoe box. "This is the other thing." He places the box carefully in Kevin's hands. "Open it." So Kevin does.

What he finds inside are a dozen old _Sumo Slammer_ cards, a small plastic, gold spray-painted trophy, a picture of Ben, Gwen, and the legendary Max Tennyson which must've been taken twenty years ago at least, and a whole assortment of other toys. "What's this?" asks Kevin.

"This," says Ben, his voice soft and his eyes glowing like stars, "Is my treasure box."

"Really?"

"Yeah. All this stuff was from the summer my grandpa took me and Gwen on a road trip across the country." Ben sighs, "Man, that was a crazy summer. Gwen and I spent half of it trying to kill each other, but it was fun." When his eyes meet Kevin's, Kevin forgets to breathe. Ben's eyes are full of so much love it's amazing and terrifying at the same time. "I want you to have it."

"What? No, Ben, I can't—"

"Well, I mean, if you don't want it, I can understand… "

Kevin's desperately trying and failing—miserably—to remember how to speak. "No! It's not that! I'd… Ben, this is _special_. I don't want to take something like this from you."

Ben smiles and Kevin immediately shuts up. "You're not. I'm giving it to you. You know, as a Christmas gift." He blushes. "Sorry, I know it's kinda lame… "

Kevin quickly shakes his head. "Of course it isn't. It's… I love it. Thank you." And he really means it.

Ben leans over to give him a kiss and only pulls away when they both remember they have to breathe, dammit. But they make up for it when Kevin wraps his arm around Ben's shoulder and pulls him in to lean against him and they sit in peaceful silence. It's possibly the most perfect moment ever in Kevin's life, but then he remembers the tiny velvet box that's been hiding in his pocket for the past twelve hours and he decides that it can't hurt to make this moment just a little more perfect.

"Hey, Ben," he suddenly says, "There's something I need to tell you."

"Yeah?" asks Ben, looking up at him inquisitively.

"Yeah, I recently came to an important conclusion."

"Uh huh. What is it?"

"I'll get to that, but I need to tell you how I came to that conclusion first."

Ben chuckles, "Okay."

Kevin smiles and gathers Ben's hands in his. "Alright, see, I'm completely—_hopelessly_, even—in love with you." Ben's eyes are even brighter than they had been while he was talking about his treasure box and his smile is the most gorgeous thing Kevin has ever seen. "But that's not news."

"I hope not." Ben says, trying and failing to stifle a laugh.

"Anyway, my next point is: you, Devlin, and Ken are my entire world. I honestly don't know what I'd do without any of you in my life." Kevin blinks. "I think I might die."

"Yeah, I guess we do have that awesome effect." agrees Ben.

"So," continues Kevin as he slowly pulls the box out of his pocket. "I was thinking about all this the other day… "

"I hope you didn't hurt yourself."

"Oh, shut up." But Kevin can't keep a smile from growing on his face when Ben throws his head back and laughs. "Yeah, so, I thought, 'Well, if I've got all this, logically the next step would be to make it official.'" He pops the box open and suddenly Ben stops laughing and stares at him like he's seeing him for the first time.

"Kevin—"

"Here's my Christmas present to you… " Kevin says quietly, keeping his eyes carefully trained on Ben. "… You know, if you want it. I guess I could return it to Tiffany's, but refunding is a real bitch."

After what feels like a decade of excruciating silence, Ben finally says, "Well, I guess I should save you the trouble of giving it back, huh?"

"So that's a 'yes', right?"

Ben kisses him soundly on the lips. "Oh yeah, definitely."

~*~

Happy belated Holidays, everyone!


End file.
